Twin Dimensions
by Ec1aire
Summary: Sonic and his team suddenly find themselves facing their Dimensional Twins, who are almost exactly the same as them. They go on a quest to find sixteen gems, so they can repair the damage to the universe that caused Cortana, Darla, Selena, Lotus and Professor Browning to cross dimensions in the first place. This contains five OCs.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Cortana the Hedgehog is a magenta-pink hero. She is very well known for her unmatched speed. Cortana has a trusty sidekick/adopted sister called Darla, who is a twin-tailed, blue-green fox. She also has a friend called Selena, who is a white echidna. They make a great team, but they aren't without enemies. Lotus the Hedgehog is a grey hedgehog with burgundy highlights in her quills, and her ally, Professor Browning, is a rounded woman who has a desire for world domination.

And they're at it again.

As Cortana glares up at her human nemesis, she works hard to hide her frustration. _Why can't I beat her?_ Cortana, Darla and Selena stand in a tightly-knit circle, providing backup for one another.

Professor Browning cackles. 'What's the matter? Too difficult for you?' The mad woman taunts.

Cortana hisses. 'In your dreams, Browning.'

Browning grins. 'Well, I guess I can put an end to this, then.' Her large hand punches down on a large yellow button, opening a swirling blue portal.

A powerful suction sends all of them - even Browning and Lotus - flying into the depths of the thing. What they don't yet know, is that they've just fallen through a dangerous tear in the universe.


	2. Chapter 1: Where are we?

**Chapter 1: Where are we?**

**Cortana's POV**

I land uncomfortably on a jagged piece of rock that is jutting out of the ground. I immediately roll off it and jump to my feet. I am in some sort of clearing. While scanning my surroundings, my eyes meet the back of a black hedgehog with red highlights. It reminds me quite profoundly of Lotus. And myself. 'Who the hell are you?' I ask, stepping towards them.

They turn around, and find myself facing a pair of blazing red eyes. 'I could ask you the same,' he says bitterly. 'What are you doing here?'

I frown. 'My name is Cortana the Hedgehog, and I was transported here from Professor Browning's base.'

He blinks. 'Professor who?'

I stare at him in shock.

'Professor Browning.' I repeat. 'You know, the woman that's trying to take over the whole planet?'

He smirks. 'That sounds like Eggman.'

I glare hard at him. 'Who are you? And who's Eggman?'

The hedgehog stares icicles at me. 'My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, and I am the Ultimate Lifeform. Dr Eggman is a fat human with a hatred of an irritating blue hedgehog called Sonic and a desire for world domination. Like your "Professor Browning".'

I shake my head. 'I've heard that before. You sound just like Lotus, who also claims to be the Ultimate Lifeform.'

Shadow snarls. 'She's not, so whoever she is, she's a fake.'

'Again, you're just like her.' I murmur.

Shadow huffs and then turns, skating quickly away.

I head in the opposite direction. I need to find my friends. And quickly.

**Sonic's POV**

I hear a soft thud outside, indicating a presence nearby. I head outside to investigate, and see a jade-green fox with two tails looking around in confusion. 'Hey there, you alright?' I ask, walking over to her.

The fox stares at me, before smiling knowingly. 'Just a little disorientated. You know, you look just like my friend. Apart from the colour.'

I tilt my head to the side as she looks around her again, as if something might jump out and attack her at any moment. 'It's alright,' I reassure her. 'You're quite safe here.'

She smiles. 'What's your name?'

I grin. 'I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And you are?'

'Darla is my name. Do you have any computers I can borrow? I need to look for my friends. We got separated.' She asks, a slight waver in her eyes.

I snort. 'Are you kidding? Tails has basically transformed the place into a giant computer lab. You know, now you mention it, you kind of remind me of him. He has two tails too.' I wink. 'Come on in, I'll get you two kids acquainted.'

Darla blushes and nods, before walking past me.

**Shadow's POV**

I just stand and watch as Eggman is an idiot (again). He's attempting to make a portal device, but I know it won't work. I haven't said anything, though - an argument with the man isn't worth my time.

My thoughts drift to the weird pink girl I met earlier. Who is she, really? And why does she remind me so much of that faker? I growl under my breath. One was enough, but now I have to deal with two?!

Eggman cusses as he drops his spanner, before stooping over to pick it up. He turns to face me. 'So, what cunning deviation are you coming up with this time?' He asks. I just stare blankly at him. 'Well, usually when you're this quiet you're either very mad, at which point you'll go to the training room and punch some equipment, or you're thinking really hard about something.'

I shrug. 'I met a girl earlier who reminds me of Sonic. She's like his female counterpart, or something.'

Eggman considers this for a moment, before dismissing it. 'Probably just coincidence. There's no way there could be two Sonics. It's just not possible.'

I sigh. Somehow I have a feeling he's wrong.

**Cortana's POV**

As I run through a forest a heavy blue body slams into me, knocking us both back. We leap to our feet and get into a fighting position at the same time. That's when I see who I crashed into.

'Are you Sonic the Hedgehog?' I ask, looking him quickly over.

He nods, not at all disturbed. 'Yes. And are you Cortana?'

I nod too. 'How do you know who I am?' I ask, frowning slightly.

Sonic grins. 'I've got a couple of friends of your at home.'

My ears perk up. 'You've found Selena and Darla?' I ask, excited.

Sonic nods. 'They're this way.' He turns towards the south-east, before looking briefly at me. 'Keep up if you can.'

I laugh and move next to him. 'I should tell you the same.'

Sonic raises an eyebrow. 'Is that a challenge I hear?' He asks, grinning.

I smirk. 'You bet your ass it is. On the count of three?' We get into our best launch positions, which are identical.

'3... 2... 1... Go!' Sonic says.

We both launch into a sprint, and to my surprise he keeps up with me. In fact, I'd say we're going exactly the same speed. I zip around a tree just as a large yellowish house comes into view. Sonic and I skid to a stop before we hit the wall, and look at each other in shock. 'I've only ever had one person who can keep up with me before today,' I say as Sonic leads me into the house.

'Same. And that's Shadow.' Sonic nods, closing the door behind us.

I frown. 'What's with him anyway? I met him earlier.'

Sonic shrugs. 'I dunno. He's been grumpy and cold for as long as I've known him.'

As we walk through a maze of computers, I see two foxes working seamlessly alongside each other. I point to the orange one. 'Who's that?' I whisper.

Sonic smiles. 'That's Miles, or Tails, as we always call him. He's like a brother to me.'

I sigh. 'Yeah, Darla's like that for me, too.' Shaking my head, I continue. 'Something's really not right here.'

When we round a corner, I see two echidnas talking quietly. The white one, my friend Selena, looks up at us and smiles when she sees me. She jumps up and hugs me, causing me to pat her shoulder awkwardly twice before pushing her away. 'Cortana, you made it!' Selena cries happily.

'Hey, Selena. Who's this?' I ask, nodding towards the Selena's red doppelganger as he approaches.

'The name's Knuckles,' he says with a grim quirk of his lips.

'Hi, Knuckles, I'm Cortana.' I introduce myself. Just then, I notice Darla and Tails walking towards us, frowns etched deeply into their faces. 'Darla, Tails, what's wrong?' I turn to face them completely.

'We've come to a different dimension.' Darla says dryly. There's only a stunned silence. Darla meets my eyes. 'And that can only happen when there is significant damage to the structure of the universe.'

I finally find my voice. 'So, somehow Browning's portal sent us across the universe? How does that work?'

Tails smirks. 'How long have you got?' He asks. 'I'll give you the basics. When a portal is created, it uses the energy of the universe to work. Because there is damage, the energy was concentrated on that one point, so the portal was too. Because of that, when you went in to the portal, you went through the damage. It's most likely some sort of crack or tear.'

I'm about to speak, but Sonic beats me to it, asking the same question I wanted to. 'How much of a problem is this?'

Darla looks sad. 'A huge one. The damaged area draws in other parts of the universe together. I guess they're our dimensions that are closest. When those dimensions collide, you'll effectively have a replica of the Big Bang. The whole universe will restart, and nothing will ever have existed.'

I sigh. 'So, what can we do to stop it?'

Darla sighs. 'I don't know. The only thing I do know is that we've been sent here for a reason. Why else would we so easily come across our... dimensional twins?'

Selena laughs. 'So you're saying the universe chose us to save it?' She asks, sceptical.

Darla and Tails shrug. 'It's the best answer we've got. Well, the only answer, really.'

Sonic sighs. 'Does this mean we now have to fight two Eggmans? And two Shadows?' He grumbles.

I place my hand on his shoulder. 'They may have double their numbers, but so do we. Before we met, our teams only outnumbered theirs by one, now it's by two. It should be a piece of cake.'

Sonic glances up at me. 'It's weird that you know exactly what to say to cheer me up.'

I shrug. 'I just say exactly what would make me feel better.'

Sonic grins. 'I'll remember that for the future.'

Darla turns to Sonic and me. 'So, what's the plan?'


	3. Chapter 2: You've got to be joking

**Chapter 2: You have got to be joking...**

**Shadow's POV**

Alarms start blaring all around us, and I rush towards the entrance, with Eggman lumbering slowly behind me. I come to an abrupt stop when I reach the door and open it, before standing on the cold metal and staring at the forest scenery surrounding us.

Eggman finally catches up with me. 'Don't tell me it's that annoying blue hedgehog again,' he grumbles under his breath. Two forms suddenly appear. A tall, round woman with ginger hair and a grey hedgehog with burgundy highlights come walking into our vicinity.

I frown. 'It can't be...' I mutter to myself.

Eggman looks at me through the corner of his eye. 'Know them?'

I shake my head. 'No, but I have a feeling I might know who they are.' I reply.

Eggman sighs. 'Who are you and what do you want?' He demands of the two women.

The human steps forward. 'You are Dr Eggman and Shadow, correct?'

We nod. 'You are Professor Browning and Lotus?' I question.

They nod this time. 'We need your help.' Browning pulls a face, as if she's humiliated to have just asked that question.

Eggman laughs. 'And what would reward such... generosity?' He drawls.

Lotus speaks, in a low voice. 'We have information that you will probably want to know.' She says impassively, but with a sense of urgency.

Eggman looks at me, then back at the girls, before sighing. 'Very well, come in.'

We begin walking through the base for a few metres, before I stop. 'So what's this information we so desperately need to know?' I ask.

Professor Browning looks amusedly down at me. 'You are so alike.' She says, her eyes flickering to Lotus, who is walking beside me. Browning faces forward again, before speaking. 'Earlier I was having a fight with a nemesis of mine; Cortana the Hedgehog. As a last resort, I opened a portal in the base, intending to send her across the planet and get her out of my hair for a few days. Instead, it sucked us all into it and we ended up here. Everything looks the same, but it's obvious nothing truly is the same.' Browning sighs.

Eggman, after fiddling with his absurd moustache, responds. 'And now you want us to help you get home, correct?'

Lotus and Browning nod. 'That's right.'

'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' a familiar voice says from the entrance.

The four of us whir around to find ourselves facing two identical hedgehogs, two identical foxes and two identical echidnas. 'And why is that?' Lotus sneers.

Cortana steps forward. 'Because the reason we were brought here in the first place is because the universe has been damaged.' She looks evenly at Browning. 'Your intentions may have been to send us across the planet, but instead we've all been sent to another dimension.'

Browning and Eggman snort in disbelief, while Lotus and I just glare at them with our arms crossed. 'That's impossible. And even if it were possible, what would you expect us to do?' Eggman asks.

Cortana sighs. 'I cannot believe I'm about to say this, because it goes against every bone in my body to do so, but, we have to work together to find the answer to that.'

Browning laughs. 'Like that's going to happen.'

Sonic glares hard at her. 'It'll happen if you don't want the entire universe to collapse and restart.'

I sigh. 'Whatever. If it saves the universe then I'm in, but once this is all over, I'm leaving that lot.' I throw my thumb over my shoulder, towards Sonic and his team.

Lotus, Browning and Eggman all reluctantly agree too. 'Very well, there will be a temporary truce to fix this problem.'

Cortana nods, visibly relaxing. 'That's all we ever asked.'

'How'd you figure all this out, anyway?' Lotus asks, frowning.

Sonic smirks. 'You're forgetting we now have two geniuses in our team, not just one.'

I roll my eyes and turn around, heading towards some much-needed solitude.

** Cortana's POV **

I watch as Browning, Eggman, Lotus and Shadow all retreat into their base, not saying a word.

Sonic groans beside me. 'I can't believe I have to work with those guys.'

I shrug. 'You'll get used to it.' 'I hope not,' he grumbles.

I face him directly. 'This isn't the sort of problem you can fix with a nut, a bolt and a spanner. It'll take time. So, yes, you will get used to it.' I say, a little harshly. 'I also think that Shadow's statement about leaving won't happen either.'

Sonic stares at me, before a wide grin spreads across his lips. 'I disagree, so how about a little bet?'

I chuckle. 'You're on. £10 says he'll stay.' I hold out a hand, which Sonic takes.

'Deal.' Before he can register what's happening, I pull Sonic along behind me, making us break into a fast run. 'Whoa! Hold up a second!' Sonic cries as he tries to rebalance himself. He joins me and starts running directly beside me. 'What was all that about?' He asks.

I shrug, jumping over a large rock that's in my way. 'I felt we were standing still for too long. Besides, I could use a hand getting to know this place.' I grin at him over my shoulder.

Sonic laughs. 'I'll give you a tour, then.'

We run around several significant landmarks, staying there for a thirty second description from Sonic before moving on again. Before I know it, we're back at the house. 'That was fun!' I say, smiling as we walk through the door.

Sonic nods. 'I'll second that.' I spot a glowing emerald on the table and pick it up.

'Hey, this looks like a Divine Jewel,' I say, turning it in my hands.

Sonic shakes his head. 'No, that's a Chaos Emerald. The Divine Jewel's equivalent, I guess. Don't let Knuckles see you handle that badly.'

I wince. 'They'll be two of them at us, now. Since Selena understands exactly how Knuckles feels, she'll want to help him.'

Sonic shudders. 'That could get messy.' He grins, and we both burst out laughing.

'Them and their damn rocks!' I squeeze out between giggles. 'You'd think they were married.'

Sonic shrugs. 'Maybe they are and we just don't know it.'

I pause, before nodding. 'I could believe that.' Sonic grins again and we share a quick high-five, just as the others wakl in.

'Uh oh, I'm not sure that's a good thing.' Selena murmurs as they walk in.

Knuckles spots the Chaos Emerald in my hand. 'Be careful with that,' he orders.

I solute. 'Yes, sir!'

Sonic chuckles. 'This is gonna be great! There are two of me now! Finally, someone who understands me.'

I smile smugly at him. 'Oh, this is only scratching the surface.' I grin mischievously, making everyone except Sonic shift nervously.

Darla, always the sensible one, murmurs 'I'm leaving before I get dragged into this.' Tails, without a moment of hesitation, follows hurriedly after her.

I giggle. 'They make such a cute brainiac couple.' I comment lightly. 'What are the chances that right now they're already making plans for some super universe-fixing device?'

Sonic smiles. 'About 100%.'

'About?' I question, raising an eyebrow at my blue mirror image.

Sonic shrugs. 'Well, there's always the possibility that Tails hasn't gotten around to showing her where everything is.'

I snort. 'I find that unlikely. If Tails is anything like Darla, then that'll have been the very first thing they did.'

Sonic pauses, quickly thinking that over. 'Yeah, okay. Scrap the "about" then, it is 100%.'

**Darla's POV**

Tails and I type frantically on our computers, each of us searching for a solution to our problem. Before we left Eggman's base, we convinced them to get straight to work to, making the point that the sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish, so the sooner we'll be out of each other's hair. So on both ends we're looking for the answer to all our problems.

I hear a commotion nearby, and look up to see Sonic and Cortana rushing past us, a glittering jewel in Cortana's hand, and Knuckles and Selena chasing after then, both red in the face. I sigh and shake my head. 'And I though it was bad before,' I mumble to myself.

Tails smiles at me. 'Like Cortana said before, that was just scratching the surface. I think we made the right choice to stay out of their way.'

I nod. 'You mean I made the right choice,' I challenge. 'After all, it was you who followed me, not the other way around.'

Tails shrugs. 'Either way it was a wise decision.'

A loud crash comes from our left, and we sigh in unison. 'One day, they'll get bored of that.' I huff.

Cortana appears next to me. 'Never gonna happen.' She grins, before looking over her shoulder, wincing, and running off again.

I stop Sonic as he races past. 'Please take this outside. We need some sort of silence to think here.' Sonic nods. 'Got it. Let us know if you find anything.' Then he's gone too.

After a few seconds, I hear them all go outside, and there's a merciful quiet.

Tails grins at me. 'Thanks, Darla. I was getting a headache from all that.'

**Sonic's POV**

Cortana throws me the Chaos Emerald and I sprint outside. Knuckles and Selena follow me immediately. I grin and quickly dart out of the way of a tree, bursting into laughter when Knuckles, spurred on by his anger and annoyance, runs head-on into the trunk.

Cortana giggles. 'Nature: 2, Knuckles: 0.' She says, in a casual commentary voice.

Selena frowns. 'Where'd the first one come from?' She asks, pausing for a moment.

I chuckle and calmly throw the Chaos Emerald to Knuckles, who catches it with a scowl. 'I think she means when he tripped over a fallen branch and rolled down a hill on the way to Eggman's.' I say, answering for Cortana, who shows that what I said was correct. 'Although, that's only since the beginning of today,' I add mischievously. 'If we're counting from the beginning of his life then it'll be...'

'He's about 6700 days old, so multiply that by two and you get...' Darla says, coming out with Tails behind her.

'... 13400 to nature, 0 to Knuckles.' Tails finishes with a grin.

Knuckles scratches his head. 'Is it really that much?'

Everyone bursts into laughter apart from the two echidnas, who are looking perplexed.

Cortana, who is the first to stop, turns towards the foxes. 'So, you guys find anything?'

Tails and Darla stop laughing immediately. 'Yeah, umm, because we're from two different dimensions we need two different set of gems. The Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald from this dimension, and the Divine Jewels and Master Jewel from the other dimension.'

I frown. 'But surely that means going back to the other dimension to find the Divine Jewels.'

Tails shakes his head. 'From what we can tell, judging by the readings we got the moment everyone came through the portal into this world, they came through the portal too.'

Cortana groans. 'So we have to find all seven Divine Jewels and the remaining Chaos Emeralds? Great.'

I sigh. 'Eggman and Browning aren't going to like this. You told 'em yet?'

Darla and Tails shake their heads. 'Not yet.' Tails replies. He goes back inside and comes out with a dark communicator on his wrist. He fiddles with it for a few seconds, before turning it on. 'Eggman, can you hear me?'

A voice on the other end, unmistakably _not_ Eggman's. 'I doubt it. What do you want, kid?' Lotus asks gruffly.

Tails winces. 'yeah, uh, we've found what we need to fix the universe, but, you're not going to like it.'

'Just get to it, Tails,' she snaps, patient as ever.

Darla sighs and answers for Tails, who seems to have lost the ability to speak. I walk up to him and pat him gently on the shoulder comfortingly. 'We need to find all seven Chaos Emeralds and all seven Divine Jewels. They'll all be somewhere on this planet, but their exact locations we don't know.'

Lotus cusses on the other end. 'Fine. I'll tell everyone. Get over here so we can discuss this properly.'

Cortana and I grin at each other, and say 'race you there' at the same time, before charging towards the base.

When we arrive, there's no one there to meet us, so we decide to wait for everyone else to catch up. After a few minutes, they do, and walk upon Cortana and I play a very confined version of tag, using just this clearing as our ground.

'Snap out of it, fakers!' Shadow growls from the entrance.

'No need to kill the mood, Shads,' Cortana says.

Shadow scowls. 'Don't call me that.'

Dr Eggman, Professor Browning and Lotus appear behind Shadow, still obviously not very pleased to be working with us. 'So, we need the Chaos Emeralds and the Divine Jewels to fix this?' Browning asks.

Darla nods. 'And the Master Emerald and Master Jewel. From what we can tell, the Divine and Master Jewels came through the portal with us, and are somewhere scattered across the planet.'

Eggman sighs. 'So we need all sixteen stones to fix this? Fantastic,' he grumbles.

Browning smiles, and I instantly get a bad feeling. 'Okay then, Shadow, Lotus, you guys go with Cortana and crew and find these stones. Eggman and I will continue to search for information here.'

Lotus and Shadow growl. 'You've got to be kidding me!' They say together.

I sidle up to Cortana and whisper to her. 'Those two would make a decent couple, don't you think?'

Cortana nods. 'Definitely. I just hope they don't. It'd be hell for the rest of us.'

I internally agree. 'Ugh, fine!' Shadow says, throwing his hands up. He storms past us, before stopping when no one follows. 'We going or what?' He snaps.

Cortana sighs. 'Though I'm sure this is gonna be fun, I have a bad feeling about this.' She whispers to me.


	4. Chapter 3: Oh, joy

**Chapter 3: Oh, joy.**

** Cortana's POV **

As we walk as one big group, we split into our dimensional pairs. Sonic and I walk side-by-side, as do Selena and Knuckles, Darla and Tails, and Shadow and Lotus. I eye the two Ultimate Lifeforms ahead of us. 'What do you think they're talking about?' I ask as their low voices reach us.

Sonic shrugs. 'Who knows? Probably something along the lines of how much they're hating this.'

I smile. 'We haven't even done anything. Yet.'

Sonic chuckles. 'Sometimes, annoying them to know end is the only way to brighten the mood.'

I agree. 'Yeah, even if it means they want to kill us afterwards.' I grin. 'How about this, the next time we see a lake or something, we overtake them and lead them towards it, before pushing them in?'

Sonic considers this, before shaking his head. 'Too obvious. They'd probably see it coming. How about we pretend to get into a fight, cause the whole group to stop, and then run off, pretending to chase each other. Since they're the only ones that can keep up, they'll follow us, and then we lead them towards a lake or something.'

I giggle. 'I love it. Okay, when we see water, that's what we'll do.'

We have a discreet handshake.

**Two hours later...**

I secretly point towards a large lake in front of us as we reach the peak of a hill.

Sonic nods and begins shouting. 'Hell no, the smaller gems should be found first,' he starts, pretending to be annoyed. 'There are more of them.'

I frown. 'That's my point. Since there are less Master gems to get, then surely the logical thing to do would be to find them first.'

Sonic shakes his head. 'No, no, no, you've got it all wrong. They're bigger, so will be easiest to find.'

I grin at him, out of sight from everyone else. 'But the Master gems are more powerful, so will be a bigger target for people who want to steal things. If we get them first, then there's less of a chance that we'll have to fight for them.'

Sonic growls. 'Dammit woman, you're wrong!' He almost-yells.

I dramatically turn my hands into fists. 'No I'm not, you are!'

Sonic scowls at me. 'Well, I know what I'm doing. You can do your bit on your own.' He runs off.

When everyone turns to face me, I frown even deeper. 'Oh no you don't you irritating blue hedgehog!' I run after him.

Sonic is waiting for me in a thick line of trees and runs beside me, grinning. I give him a thumbs-up and we swerve towards the lake. The lake starts literally just as the line of trees ends, so we jump up into some trees and wait for Shadow and Lotus, who come charging towards the area after a second or so. They stop right at the edge of the lake, Lotus nearly falling in but being stopped by Shadow, when we jump out of our trees and push them directly into the lake.

We burst out laughing and share a high-five, just as Shadow and Lotus emerge, glaring icicles at us. 'Faker!' They yell.

Sonic grins. 'Oops, time to run!' So we do, with Shadow and Lotus hot on our heels. Sonic takes my hand as the hazardous forest stops. 'Let's take it up a notch.'

So we run faster, quickly speeding up to the speed of sound and leaving the two angry hedgehogs far behind us. We come to a stop at the camp Selena, Knuckles, Tails and Darla set up in our absence, still laughing.

Selena, upon seeing us, moans. 'Don't tell me you just got them seriously ticked off.'

Sonic and I exchange a glance. 'We might have done...' I reply, failing to fight off my grin. I flop onto the ground. 'I'm just glad Shadow and Lotus aren't the prank-playing type.'

Knuckles chuckles. 'No, they're more the beat-into-a-pulp type.'

Sonic puts his hands up. 'Exactly!'

At this point, Shadow and Lotus appear, glaring at us. 'You shouldn't have done that,' Shadow says dangerously.

I roll my eyes. 'Oh, come on! It was all in good fun.' They just remain silent, so I look towards the sky. 'I guess making a camp was a good idea; it's getting pretty dark.'

Sonic smirks. 'No duh! Why else would they do it? Not to wait for us, they know we'd catch them up anyway.'

I shrug. 'A quick rest?'

Sonic shrugs too. 'Same difference.'

'...Anyway, you guys want something to eat?' Darla asks, pulling some fish I didn't realise was there off the fire.

'Definitely!' We all say together. Well, apart from the two Grumpies, who just nod.

** Selena's POV **

After a long struggle, I finally give up on trying to get to sleep, so sit up and stare into the embers of the fire. I see movement through the darkness, and watch as Knuckles sits next to me.

'Couldn't sleep either, huh?' He asks quietly.

I shake my head. 'My mind is too full of... crap.'

Knuckles chuckles. 'I know the feeling. I think it's because we're not where we're supposed to be.'

I look up at him. 'You mean Angel Island?'

Knuckles nods, before frowning. 'They're called the same thing?'

I shrug. 'So it would seem. Still, I'm not sure I want to sit here if I can't sleep. Normally I can feel where about the Emeralds all are but right now I just can't. Probably because my mind isn't used to this dimension, or something.'

Knuckles shakes his head. 'No, I can normally feel them too, but I can't now. I expect it's because of the arrival of the Divine jewels. Maybe they're masking each other.'

I consider this. 'Maybe.' I notice two shadows walking towards the camp, and gently nudge Knuckles. 'Do you see those shadows?' I whisper.

Knuckles looks over at where I'm pointing, but shakes it off. 'Probably Lotus and Shadow. They aren't in bed.'

I nod. 'Of course they're not. I forget they don't sleep much.' The two shadows crawl into their beds, just as expected, and stop moving. I yawn. 'Well, there's no harm in getting another attempt of sleeping in.'

Knuckles agrees and leaves me, letting me snuggle under my sleeping bag and close my eyes. I drift to sleep without too much effort, for which I am grateful.

** Cortana's POV **

I hear someone shrieking and wake up immediately. I turn to see Sonic soaked in water. I laugh loudly, before an ice-cold bucket of water is dumped over me, too. I look up at Lotus, who just smirks down at me. I shudder. _Ugh, I hate water_. Sonic and I exchange a glance, before chuckling again. I stand and shake the water out of my fur as best I can, before running in a large circle. When I return, Sonic is gone, and my fur is bone-dry.

'I guess we deserved that,' Sonic says as he appears by my side.

I nod my agreement. 'Okay, I guess we're square now.' I then remember what we're here to do, and sigh. 'I have a feeling this search is going to take a very long time.'

Darla walks up to me, frowning. 'Unfortunately, we don't have a long time. I just got a message from the base, and Eggman and Browning think we've got at most a month before the universe gets it.'

I nod. 'We should split into two groups. One go for the Emeralds, one go for the Jewels.'

Shadow nods. 'I agree. But there is no way in hell I am going with either of those two.' He points at Sonic and me.

I smirk. 'How's this, then? Sonic and I go with Knuckles and Selena, because they know a lot about these gems because, well, they practically live with them, and because we're fast. You and Lotus go with Tails and Darla because they are the least likely to make you want to kill someone and they're total geniuses and _you're_fast. Seem fair?'

Seven nods. 'Okay. We'll meet back at the base in two weeks and report. We'll then decide if we should split up again or remain as a team.' Lotus says, her eyes glinting a little happily. Probably because she won't have to keep her guard up because of me and blue.

So we split. Sonic, Knuckles, Selena and I continue North, while Shadow, Lotus, Tails and Darla head East. Darla gives me her spare communication device so we can keep in touch when necessary. I sigh. 'As much as I think this is the best arrangement for us, it's a shame we've lost our main prank targets.'

Sonic grins. 'We could always move to those two.' he points over his shoulder at Knuckles and Selena.

I shake my head. 'Nah, they already give us enough fun with their obsession with rocks.' I stop, frowning. 'Who picked up the Chaos Emerald when we left?'

'That would be me,' Knuckles says and he joins us.

I hold out a hand. 'Can I borrow that for a moment?' Knuckles looks sceptical, but passes me the purple gem. I hold it tightly and try to get a feel from it, but I come up with nothing. Sighing, I return it to its keeper. 'I thought I'd be able to get some sort of feel off it, but I've got nothing.'

Knuckles and Selena nod. 'We found that, too,' Selena says. 'We think the signals from the Chaos Emeralds and Divine Jewels are masking each other.'

Sonic frowns. 'Well that's rubbish,' he complains quietly.

'I agree. Still, I guess it can't be helped.' I sigh. 'If only Rory were here, this would be so much easier.'

Selena growls. 'That thief? We're better off without him.'

Knuckles frowns. 'Is he your Rouge equivalent? She's an annoying bat who is always trying to steal the Master Emerald.'

I nod. 'Yeah, that's him.'

'Then I agree, we're better off without him.' Knuckles states profusely.

Sonic smirks. 'At least Amy's not here. That would be a pain and a half. Plus, she'd slow us down.'

I raise an eyebrow at him. 'Amy?'

Knuckles smirks. 'She's his personal stalker, and most annoying fangirl.'

I laugh happily. 'Oh, so she's like Connor. I'm glad he's not here. Everyone knows I need a decent break from his...'

'Stalking?' Selena offers with a giggle.

I laugh. 'Right.'

Sonic grins. 'Wow, having you here is great! I know I've already said this once, but it's nice that someone finally understands me.'

I wink at him. 'There may come a time when you wish that wasn't the case, blue boy. Because I also know what annoys you more than anything else.'

Sonic grows pale. 'Oh, damn.'

Everyone laughs. 'Don't worry, I'm not that cruel, because I know how much I hate it.'

Sonic relaxes. 'Phew!'

Selena, suddenly nervous, shifts her eyes towards the North-West. 'The Master Jewel is that way!' She cries, pointing. 'And someone's about to try and take it.'

We exchange a look, before bolting off in that direction. Sonic and I run fast ahead, and come across the large green Jewel before long. I pick it up and we quickly re-join Knuckles and Selena. 'Here ya go.' I say, passing her the Jewel with a smile.

Selena grins and suddenly disappears, before returning empty-handed. 'I've sent it to the base,' she explains. 'It'll be safer there.'

I nod. 'Provided Eggman and Browning don't suddenly turn on us.'

Selena smiles. 'I thought of that, so they don't know it's actually there.'

I give her a quick hug. 'That's my girl,' I say as I release her.


	5. Chapter 4: Something's not right here

**Chapter 4: Something's not right here**

******Sonic's POV**

****As we continue wandering through the forest, Knuckles suddenly grows excited, before running off to the south-west. Cortana and I exchange a glance. 'Let me guess...' I say.

Cortana grins and holds up a hand. '3... 2... 1...'

Immediately after the 1, Knuckles appears, grinning triumphantly. 'I found the Master Emerald and put it in the base too.'

We nod. I smirk at Cortana. 'Good timing.' I say to her.

She shrugs. 'It comes from knowing Selena for too long.'

I chuckle. 'I know.'

**Several hours later...**

****It's noon, so the sun is beating heavily down on us. At some point, and I don't exactly know when, we entered a desert. The heat is close to unbearable, and unfortunately, running doesn't help.

Cortana, who's been literally dragging her feet through the sand for the past twenty minutes, groans and collapses, passing out on the sand. I turn to Selena and Knuckles. 'We need to find some sort of shelter or shade. We'll all pass out if we're not careful.'

Knuckles scowls and looks around. 'I'll see what's over that sand dune.' He says, before running up the steep slope. When he reaches the top, I hear him whistle. 'There's a ruin over here!'

I grin. 'Good!' I then walk over to Cortana and pick her up, before running to join Knuckles. I see the massive scale of the ruin, and almost whistle too. 'I'm gonna go ahead and get Cortana out of the sun. I'll see you two later.'

Selena, who has just joined us, puts a hand on my shoulder. 'Don't get lost,' she warns.

I laugh. 'Think who you're talking to, echidna.' I grin, before sprinting away. I run down the sand dune and make it through an open door into the ruins. In the shade of the stone, it's much cooler, although still too hot for my liking.

Cortana doesn't move, so, sighing, I look around for some water. Of course, I have no luck, so take out the water from my pack and pour a little over her face. Cortana blinks, before shaking her head, trying to rid it of the water. It sprays over both of us. 'Yuck!' She shudders. She looks up at me and glares. 'Sonic! You know I don't like water.'

I sigh. 'Sorry, but you wouldn't wake up.'

Cortana pouts. 'I would have woken up eventually.' She grumbles.

Knuckles and Selena finally come inside the ruin, sweating quite a lot. 'Damn, I _hate_ it here.' Selena complains.

Cortana rolls her eyes. 'Get over it.'

I suddenly feel something buzz inside of me and, judging by the look that comes over Cortana's face, she felt it to. Our eyes meet, before we both bolt down the left passageway, with Knuckles and Selena yelling after us. 'Stay there!' Cortana shouts over her shoulder.

We make it into the depths of the ruin, and I almost fall over the edge of a tall, broken ledge. As I try to regain my balance, Cortana pulls me away from the edge. 'Thanks,' I say, smiling at her.

Cortana nods seriously. 'It doesn't feel right, so it must be a Chaos Emerald.'

'What doesn't feel right?' I ask.

'The buzz.' She replies, jumping down onto a platform twenty feet below us. She rolls as she lands, before looking expectantly back at me. 'Come on, slowpoke.'

I roll my eyes and jump beside her, before jumping up onto the next ledge over. I turn back. 'Right back at ya!' I say, grinning.

Cortana chuckles and joins me, before we run down another corridor. We run into a room filled with disabled robots. 'Eggman's mechs.' I say, circling them. 'He must have disabled them to avoid them killing us.'

Cortana grins, before running up to them and destroying them, each in one hit. 'Just as I thought.' She kneels down and rummages in the broken parts, before pulling out a glimmering yellow gem. She shivers. 'No, it doesn't feel right.' Cortana throws it to me.

I catch it and feel the power radiating through me, then nod. 'Yeah, it's a Chaos Emerald.' I tuck the gem away, but then realise the buzzing sensation is still here, but it's cold this time. 'This isn't the only one.' I shiver. 'This one isn't a Chaos Emerald; I see what you mean now.'

Cortana nods. 'It's still in this room.' She begins searching for it, and finds it in a stone box behind a pillar. It's green, and obviously isn't a Chaos Emerald. 'As you can see,' Cortana says, grinning, 'the Chaos Emeralds and Divine Jewels aren't quite the same shape.'

I nod, before my quills start bristling. 'There's someone here,' I whisper. Cortana grows serious, and closes her eyes. 'What are you...?'

Cortana opens her eyes and grins. 'I can feel him here. You probably can too if you really try.' Her eyes flicker over my shoulder, and her grin disappears. 'I wouldn't though, if I were you.'

I spin round and find myself facing an "icy" duplicate of Shadow. I hiss. 'Mephiles, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be-'

Cortana covers my mouth with her hand, whispering urgently in my ear. 'He can travel in time, remember? This is probably an earlier version of himself.'

I face her, not fully taking my eyes off Mephiles. 'Mephiles is in your dimension?'

Cortana nods. 'He's exactly the same. Same appearance, same gender, same name. We need to get out of here.'

I nod and we face Mephiles, but he doesn't seem bothered with us. His eyes are on the far wall. 'It's a shame. Well, for you.' He turns to us, giving us his mouthless grin. 'When you went through the crack in the universe, Cortana, your dimension's version of me followed. We met, and joined.' His body faces us fully. 'I am now twice as powerful as I once was. So now, I can kill you.'

**Cortana's POV****  
**

****I face Sonic. 'Keep him distracted, I need to contact the others.'

Sonic nods, and moves Mephiles' attention away from me. 'Let's dance, Mephiles.' He taunts, grinning.

I push myself against the wall. 'Guys, can you hear me?' I ask, my voice low and urgent.

'Yeah, it's Tails. What's up?'

I wince as Sonic is thrown against the wall. 'Get Shadow and Lotus. NOW.' I hiss.

After a few seconds, Shadow speaks. 'What do you want, faker?'

'Help.' I reply, cringing again as I watch Sonic be forced against the ground. 'And bloody quickly.'

I can almost hear Shadow rolling his eyes. 'What did you do this time?' He asks condescendingly.

I growl. 'Nothing! Mephiles is here, and both your Mephiles and our Mephiles are in the same body. He's twice as powerful, we don't have enough Emeralds or Jewels to become Super and currently Sonic is having his ass kicked keeping Mephiles' attention away from me.'

Shadow sighs. 'You know I don't know where you are, right?'

'The desert. The ruins where you tried to seal him. We're in the exact same room.' I say, ducking at a robot part is thrown towards me. 'QUICKLY DAMMIT!' I yell, before joining the fight with Sonic.

Sonic looks up at me and jumps to his feet. 'They coming?'

I nod. 'I think so. They know where we are.' As I say this, a bright blue light appears, and when it fades, we find Shadow and Lotus facing us, on the other side of Mephiles' body. 'Yep, they're coming,' I finish, grinning.

Shadow and Lotus spring into action immediately, knocking an unprepared Mephiles on the ground. He glares at us. 'I will kill you one day.' He says, before disappearing.

I smirk. 'Twice as powerful, twice as cowardly.'

Shadow and Lotus turn to us. 'Have you found any Emeralds or Jewels?' Lotus asks.

We nod. 'We have two Chaos Emeralds, a Divine Jewel and the two Master gems. You?'

They nod too. 'Two Divine Jewels and two Chaos Emeralds.' Shadow replies. His takes out a Chaos Emerald. 'See you in a few days.' Then they're gone, disappearing in another blue flash.

I turn to Sonic. 'We should go back. Knuckles and Selena will want to know where we've been for so long'

Sonic chuckles. 'As soon as they see those gems, they won't care about us.'

I chuckle. 'True.'

**Shadow's POV**

****As soon as Lotus and I appear back in the thick jungle, Tails and Darla rush towards us. 'Are they alright?' Darla asks, frowning worriedly.

I pat her shoulder reassuringly. 'They're fine. As soon as we appeared Mephiles fled.' I glance at my female doppelganger. 'We should keep our guard up. He could reappear at any moment.'

Lotus nods. 'Still, at least we know there's been success on both sides.'

I nod my agreement. Tails frowns. 'How are they doing?'

Lotus smiles, a genuine, proud smile. 'They've got one Jewel, two Emeralds and have found both the Master Jewel and the Master Emerald.'

Tails and Darla look relieved. 'That's good.'

We continue through the jungle in silence. After a while, I grow strangely shifty. I feel uncomfortable. Lotus glances at me, frowning. 'Shadow, you alright?'

I shake my head. 'No. I just can't put my finger on what's wrong.' Lotus looks around, and becomes suddenly sad. 'Hey, what's with you?' I ask, trying to get a closer look at her.

She shakes her head. 'It's not important. Besides. you wouldn't understand.'

I smirk. 'I disagree. I'm basically you, remember?'

Lotus sighs. 'This place reminds me of a brother I used to have. A sister, probably, in your case. His name was Harvey. He'd love it here. Harvey had a thing for nature.' Lotus smiles sadly.

I look around, and find myself thinking of Maria. 'I know what you mean. Maria was the name of the girl, and she was always staring out the window of the ARK, down at the planet below. The nature of it really fascinated her.'

Lotus chuckles. 'It's nice to have someone I can finally talk to about these things.' She sighs. 'I just hope I can continue to hide them from everyone else.'

I pause. 'Maybe telling _some_ people won't be a bad thing,' I muse aloud.

Lotus looks surprised. 'You know the reasons why we don't.' She says in a hushed voice - Darla and Tails have slowed down, presumably so we don't trail too far behind.

I nod. 'I do know why we don't. Still, it can't hurt for people to at least begin to understand why we're... the way we are.'

Lotus shakes her head. 'I don't want to. I can't.'

I place a hand on her shoulder. 'Think it over. I'm not completely decided yet, either.'

**Sonic's POV**

The moon is high in the sky, but with the sky so clear, it's become cold. I stand by the entrance to the ruins, pondering our options. We can walk at night, when its dark, and hope that the movement will warm us, or, we can walk during the day. when it's very hot, but we can see everything clearly.

Cortana stops beside me. 'You're wondering whether walking at night is sensible, aren't you?' She whispers, trying not to wake the dozing echidnas behind us.

I nod, not turning to face her. 'I'm torn.' I face her, frowning. 'What do you think?'

Cortana thinks for a moment. 'Night.' She says strongly. 'It's not too hot that we pass out, and the moon provides enough light for us to at least see where we're going.'

I pause, then nod. 'I think that's the best idea. If we make it out of the desert during the night, we can find a decent place to use as shelter and get a few hours rest during the day.'

Cortana turns around and walks inside, gently shaking the two echidnas awake. 'Come on guys, we should get going before it gets too hot to move.'

They both grumble, but get to their feet. 'Can't we just Chaos or Divine Control out of here?' Knuckles moans.

I shake my head. 'We need to make sure we've covered everywhere. We'll have to go on foot for now.'

Cortana frowns, before pulling out the Divine Jewel. She closes her eyes, no doubt getting a feel from it. Her eyes snap open. She holds a hand out to me, palm up. 'Take my hand.' She instructs. I do, perplexed, and then we form an incomplete circle, both Cortana and Knuckles having one hand by their side. Cortana raises the Divine Jewel. 'Divine Control!' She shouts, and we are engulfed by a bright green light.

I look around us when we appear. 'Where are we?'

Cortana smirks at me. 'Don't you recognise it?'

I shake my head. 'No. Should I?'

Cortana shrugs. 'You've been here before, if _my_ life is anything to go on. We're in the old Soleanna Laboratory.'

I look around, and see a familiar room through a door. 'Oh, I see it now. So, there's a Divine Jewel here?'

Cortana nods. 'Somewhere here, anyway. We should split up; we'll cover more ground quicker that way.'

I nod. 'Pairs, or individuals?'

Cortana shrugs. 'Don't mind. Selena? Knuckles?'

'Individuals.' They say together.

I grin. 'It's decided then. Meet back here in fifteen minutes?'

They all nod, and we head in the four different directions that are available from this room. I go left, and slowly make my way through the laboratory. After a while, I realise that I'm beginning to loop around, and find a T split in the corridors. While deciding in which direction I should go, I hear approaching footsteps come my way. I raise an eyebrow when I see her. 'Selena?'

She jumps. 'Hey.' She scratches the back of her head. 'I guess this place loops around, huh?'

We look towards the direction neither of us have come from. 'It appears that way, doesn't it? So, shall we head down here together?'

She nods. 'Don't see why not.'

We start walking down the long, single-line corridor. It takes several minutes for us to reach the end, and then it opens up to reveal a large room. I whistle. 'This room must be at least 50 cubic metres. At least.'

Selena shivers. 'I don't know why, but I hate this room. It irks me.'

I nod. 'I think I understand.' I look around, and notice a door on the opposite side of the room. 'What do you think's through there?' I ask.

Selena shrugs, then looks up. 'Sonic!' She cries, pointing towards the roof.

I follow the point of her finger and grin. 'Well spotted.' A glimmering cyan Divine Jewel is floating about thirty metres in the air. I look around. 'This room is completely empty. How are we going to reach it?'

Selena chuckles, before running up to the wall. She grabs hold of it and starts climbing up. She reaches the very top of the wall, before launching herself away from it and gliding towards the Jewel. She grasps it in her hand and drops several metres, before floating down. 'That's how.' Selena grins smugly at me.

I chuckle. 'Nice work.' Selena passes me the Jewel and I tuck it away in my quills. 'We should go meet up with the others.' I say.

Selena nods her agreement. 'I agree.' I see her frowning.

'Something wrong, Selena? You seem a little on edge.' I ask.

Selena sighs. 'It just seems too easy.' She says quietly. 'I have this itching feeling in the back of my mind that's saying there's something else waiting for us.'

I shrug. 'If there is, then we'll face it when it comes. For now, concentrate on getting back. Do you think this corridor leads to the right place?' I ask, pointing down the only corridor leading off this room that we haven't been down.

'I don't know. I guess there's only one way t-'

A loud explosion cuts Selena off mid-sentence, and, only after sharing a quick, worried glance, we run down the corridor, towards the noise. We run in upon a scene I never expected in an abandoned place like this. A huge metallic being is fighting against Cortana and Knuckles, and unfortunately, it's beating them.

Cortana sees Selena and me and grins. 'Come on then, give us a hand!' She says.

'Cortana!' I yell her a warning, just as the robot's massive hand comes crashing down upon her.


	6. Chapter 5: Two Heads Or One

**Chapter 5: Are two heads really better than one?**

**Sonic's POV**

The sound of metal hitting metal grates against my ears. I glare at the robotic abomination and crouch down, ready to attack it. I spring off my feet and hit it square in the "head". With a mechanical _thunk, _it falls in a scattered heap of misshapen metal. I run over to my pink friend and try to shake her awake. I don't expect all that much response, so I'm not extremely disheartened when Cortana doesn't respond. Still, it doesn't make me feel better. Far from it.

'Come on, Cortana, wake up.' I urge, shaking her again.

Selena and Knuckles stand over us. 'Is she... alive?' Selena asks in a weak voice.

I press my ear against her chest. 'Yes, she's alive. Though only just, by the sounds of things.' I reply, my voice sounding strangely hoarse and breathless.

Cortana moans weakly in my arms, her closed eyes fluttering, but not opening. 'Darla. Workshop. Tails.' She murmurs. Her eyes open a fraction, and I can see the corners of her eyes through the tiny gap. 'Take me there.' She whispers. Her eyes roll back into her head, and she passes out in my arms.

I look up at Knuckles and Selena. 'Do you have any idea what she's talking about?' I ask, my frazzled brain too preoccupied to sort through this new information.

Knuckles looks at me, perplexed. 'I think she wants us to take her to Tails' workshop. Is that not obvious?'

I sigh. 'My mind isn't working properly right now.' I pull out a Chaos Emerald and wait until Knuckles is holding my shoulder until I say 'Chaos Control!'

We appear in Tails' workshop and, once the light has died down, I am shocked to find Darla, Tails, Shadow and Lotus already here. 'What the-?' Tails splutters. Then he sees Cortana in my arms, injured and broken. 'Quick, in here.' He says, leading me into his designated hospital area.

I place Cortana on the table and stand well back, letting Tails do whatever it is he does when people are this badly injured. For a while it's just the two of us, and then Shadow walks in. 'What happened this time?' He asks, exasperated.

'Cortana Divine Controlled us to Soleanna Laboratory, saying she felt something there. We split up into four groups, then all meet in a big room. There was a metal... _thing_ there, and it knocked her out before we could destroy it.' I explain, not taking my eyes off the pink form on the table.

Tails looks up. 'Judging by the severity of her injuries, I'd say it did more than just knock her out.'

I sigh and nod. 'She got trapped under its hand when it tried to... well, crush her, I guess.' I shudder.

Shadow and Tails both nod. 'Did you have any luck, though? Finding an Emerald or a Jewel.'

I nod. 'Yeah, Selena and I met each other halfway through our search and then came across one. I don't know if Knuckles and Cortana found anything, but I would guess not. What about you? Have you had any luck since our last... encounter?'

Shadow shakes his head. 'No.'

Cortana groans and opens her eyes, wincing when she tries to move. 'Ow!' She hisses. 'I feel like I've been thrown off a cliff,' she moans.

I chuckle dryly. 'You haven't. You have been attacked by a giant robot hand, though.'

Cortana shrugs, then winces again. 'Same difference.'

Tails looks sadly at Cortana. 'Cortana, I'm afraid your injuries are really quite serious. You've broken two leg bones and cracked four ribs. Actually, you're lucky it's just that.'

Cortana sighs, before grasping her side. 'Ow!' She cries again. 'Is there nothing you can do to fix it? Quickly, I mean?'

Shadow tilts his head to the side. 'Since you're like Sonic, we could try healing you with a Chaos Emerald or Divine Jewel.'

Cortana shrugs. 'If you're gonna do it, please do it quickly. This is much more painful than it probably looks.'

Shadow takes a Chaos Emerald from his quills and holds it over Cortana's body. The gem glows brightly and a thin ray of light is transferred into Cortana's chest. Cortana begins to moan, before her body - bruises and cuts just vanishing from existence - completely heals. A weak cough escapes Cortana's lips, and her arms grow limp by her sides. 'I'm guessing it worked,' Shadow comments with an amused quirk of his lips.

Cortana nods. 'Yeah, but it felt really weird. It just felt... wrong.'

Shadow nods as well. 'That's understandable. Your body is used to the power of the Divine jewels, not the Chaos Emeralds.'

Cortana considers this for a moment. 'So what's the total count of gems so far?'

'We've gained no more since yesterday.' Shadow replies, clearly holding back an eye roll.

Cortana looks at me. 'Did you find anything in Soleanna?'

Sonic nods. 'We found a Divine Jewel, so we've got two of... everything.'

Cortana looks relieved. 'Good. I was worried that we'd left the place empty-handed.'

Shadow grumbles something under his breath, before walking out. Tails glances at us, before quickly following him. I shrug and sit by Cortana's side. 'You alright?' I ask softly.

Cortana shrugs. 'Eh, I've been better, but I'll get over it. So, does that mean we only have six gems to go? Four, four and two! Yeah, we've got ten!' Cortana seems to be getting excited.

I chuckle and nod. 'Yeah, we've only got a few more to go.'

'Heard anything from the Egg-couple?' Cortana asks me, sitting up.

'Not as far as I'm aware. Then again, I haven't exactly _asked_.' I admit sheepishly.

Cortana rolls her eyes. 'Well, then I will.' Cortana jumps to her feet and leaves, calling to Tails and Darla as she does.

The two meet us in the doorway into the computer room. 'What's up?' Darla asks cheerfully.

'We want to know if you've heard anything from Eggman or Browning lately.' I say.

They shake their heads. 'No, nothing so far. Should I contact them and find out?' Tails asks.

'If you think it'll help,' Cortana says, shrugging.

Tails fiddles with his communicator for a moment, before speaking into it. 'Eggman, Browning, can you hear me?' He asks.

There's a brief pause. 'Yeah, we can. What do you want?' Eggman asks gruffly. He sounds _exhausted._

'We were wondering if you had any update to our information.' Tails says nervously.

Eggman sighs. 'No, we've come up with nothing. What about you? Had any luck finding those jewels?'

'Yeah. We've got ten in total, so just have six to get now.' Tails says, nodding subconsciously.

'Good work. Just remember you only have another couple of weeks before the whole universe collapses.' Eggman reminds us. There's a loud crash in the background, before an alert starts blaring. 'Ugh, give me a minute.' Then Eggman turns off his communicator.

Tails shrugs, lowering his arm. 'I guess we should get back to work, since Cortana's better.'

We nod, before a frown crosses Cortana's face. 'Is it really best that we stay split? I mean, we need each other's help every now and then anyway, and since we've already got over half on the jewels we need...'

I smirk. 'Do you not remember the reason we split up in the first place?' I ask.

Rolling her eyes, Cortana folds her arms. 'I do, but for the sake of the _entire universe_, I think we can put our pranks on hold for now.'

I sigh. 'Fine, I can do that, I think.'

Tails' communicator suddenly buzzes. 'Tails, are you still there?' Browning asks, her voice oddly urgent.

Worry flickers over Tails' face. 'Yeah. You alright?'

'We've made a bit of a revelation. When we have all sixteen gems, we can fix the universe, this we know, but... we'd be stuck on this side. Cortana, Darla, Selena, Lotus and I... we can't go back. To do so would destroy the universe indefinitely.'

Cortana and Darla go rigid, while Tails and I look at them worriedly. 'Got it.' Tails says weakly.

'We... can't go back?' Cortana murmurs quietly. 'But what about all those enemies! Everyone we've ever had to face! Who's gonna be there to stop them?! What'll happen to our dimension if we're not th-' I press my hand against her muzzle to stop her talking. Cortana glares at me.

'You're dimension can survive without you, I'm sure,' I reassure her softly. 'But we should think about one problem at a time. We can worry about that when we've found the gems.'

Four sets of feet come our way, and we all turn to find Knuckles, Selena, Shadow and Lotus coming our way. 'What was all that shrieking about?' Lotus growls.

Cortana sighs, her ears flattening against her head in sadness. 'We're stuck here.' Is all she says, before disappearing in a pink blur.

Shadow frowns. 'What was that supposed to mean?' He asks.

'It means that, in order to save the universe, the girls have to stay in this dimension. They can't leave, or the universe goes with them.' Tails says sadly.

A lot of emotion flickers across Lotus's eyes in that moment - more than I've ever seen from Shadow at once. 'We're never going to leave? Ever?' She asks, disbelieving.

We nod. Selena looks a little sick, but Knuckles places a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she forces a small smile. 'I guess it's a sacrifice we'll have to make, so there's no point moping about it. I'm just curious about what's going to happen to the Divine Jewels and Master Jewel. Presumably they'll stay here with us.'

I nod, before sprinting in the direction I expect Cortana to have gone. I go on the roof, and find her looking up at the sunset. Vibrant shades of yellow, orange, red and pink fill the sky. It looks like a postcard picture. Cortana glances at me when I sit by her, before moving her gazing back to the sky. 'I'm fine, so don't ask,' Cortana says in a cracked voice.

I sigh. 'I wasn't going to say anything, to be honest. I just wanted you to know you had someone to talk to if needed. Company alone is sometimes better than company with words.'

Cortana sends a weak smile my way. 'Thanks, Sonic.'

I jump up. 'Hey, wanna go for a run?'

Cortana smiles genuinely for the first time since she woke up. 'Sure, sounds like fun!'

We jump off the roof of the house and speed through the nearby landscape, as usual, turning the run into a race.


	7. Chapter 6: Trapped

**Chapter 6: Trapped**

**Cortana's POV**

We set out as one group, agreeing that there was no point in remaining split up. We have just over a week to find the last six gems, and you can pick up on the tension and nerves between us. For the first few hours of our first day back together, we walk in a suffocating silence. Even Sonic and I can't think of anything to say. When we pause to rest, the first sentence to be said comes from an unlikely source, asking an even more unlikely question.

'You alright, faker?' Lotus asks me. I am slumped against the trunk of a tree, holding my face in my hands.

I look up at her and nod. 'I'm fine, just a little tired,' I reply, giving her what I hope is a convincing smile.

Lotus seems to accept this, but Shadow doesn't. 'That may be true, but there's something else, isn't there?'

I sigh, before nodding. 'Yeah, it's not all.' Everyone turns expectantly to face me. 'It's too quiet.' I say.

Shadow rolls his eyes. 'If you didn't want it to be quiet, you should have _said_ something.'

I shake my head, getting to my feet. 'Not like that. I mean around us. We're in the middle of a jungle, and I can't hear a thing.'

Everyone pauses for a moment to listen. 'You're right. There's not even any wind.'

A shiver runs down my spine as I suddenly think of something. I grab a stone and climb to the top of a tree, before throwing it as hard as I can, directly up. After about twenty feet, it bounces off an invisible barrier and comes back down, landing about seven or eight feet away. My heart flutters in my chest as I jump down. Everyone looks expectantly at me. 'We're trapped. There's some sort of barrier round us, and I bet it's a dome.' I report.

Sonic looks pale, and his eyes widen. 'T-Trapped?' He shudders. 'Oh, great.'

'I know how you feel.' I mumble, almost to myself. 'Look, I don't know how big this thing is, but I very much doubt we can do anything about it from the inside.'

'Actually...' Selena interrupts. 'A dome like this can be created by the misuse of two or more Jewels, and probably Emeralds too.'

Knuckles nods. 'She's right. Chances are someone is using those Emeralds or Jewels incorrectly, and as a result has created this dome around us. We need to find them and get them back as soon as possible, or something a lot worse that a dome can be created.'

Lotus frowns. 'Like what?'

Knuckles and Selena exchange a nervous glance. '...Let's just leave it at that for now. We should get moving.' Selena says slowly.

Lotus scowls, but doesn't argue. 'Split up?' She asks.

I nod, along with a few others. 'Good idea.' I say. 'We'll go in the usual pairs.'

They all nod, and take a direction each. Sonic and I go north. We are only walking, so both of us are a little shifty. 'I wish we could run!' Sonic moans after a while.

I sigh. 'Me too, but running could mean we miss the Emeralds or Jewels. We can't risk that.'

Sonic huffs. 'I know, it's just-'

'Guys! We've found the two gems! Come to where we are!' Tails says excitedly, but I can detect worry in his voice.

Sonic and I exchange a glance, before sharing a nod and running back the way we came, then west. We meet Tails and Darla in front of a large lake. I groan. 'Oh, you've got to be kidding me.'

Just as Shadow, Lotus, Knuckles and Selena join us, Mephiles' black body turns around. He is floating above the centre of the water. 'What are you doing with those, Mephiles?' Lotus growls, clenching her hands into fists.

Mephiles laughs evilly. 'I'm keeping you trapped here. I may want the end of the world, but I figured the end of the universe is just as good.'

I roll my eyes. 'Meaning the end of you, too.'

Mephiles glares at me. 'I will be at the centre of the collapse if I get my hands on the miracle gems from both dimensions, therefore I will not be affected. But you... you will all be wiped from existence, and the universe will be under my control. As it should be.'

Every one of us lets out a growl. 'You won't get that far, Mephiles.' Shadow growls.

Mephiles cackles again. 'Just try and stop me.'

So we do, every one of us launch ourselves at him, after running on water of climbing up a tree to get to the right height. Mephiles dodges each of our attacks. The water beneath my feet bugs me, but I try to ignore it. Shadow and I end up on the same side of the lake. 'Shadow, we need to get those gems off him, and then we can make a time portal and send him back through.'

Shadow nods. 'Attack together?' He suggests.

I nod. We both burst into a sprint and, while Mephiles is distracted by the others, we attack him. Mephiles stumbles in the air - _I don't even know how that's possible_ - and that gives Shadow and I the opportunity to grab a gem each. I take his Divine Jewel, Shadow takes his Chaos Emerald.

We stop on the other bank, with the others gathered around us. Shadow and I nod, before bringing the stones together and shouting. Shadow shouts 'Chaos Control!' while I shout 'Divine Control!'

A swirling purple portal appears, sparking because of the different energies used to create it. 'We need to force Mephiles through this,' Shadow says sharply.

Everyone nods, and we start pushing Mephiles towards the portal. With a frustrated growl, Lotus springs at him and a hard kick to his back sends him straight through. The portal closes behind him.

While we catch our breaths, Sonic slowly walks up to me and we exchange a high-five. Someone claps me on the back, and I turn to see Shadow offering me a somewhat hesitant smile. 'Nice job, Cortana. That was a good plan.'

I return his smile. 'Thanks, Shadow, that means a lot.'

Darla suddenly squeaks. 'Guys, look!'

We all follow the direction of her pointed finger towards the sky and see the dome slowly disintegrating. 'Good! And, we got another two gems. Only four more to go.' Sonic cheers.

Tails' communicator suddenly buzzes. 'Tails, can you hear me?' Eggman asks, his voice distorted by static.

'Yeah, I hear you? What's wrong?'

'I've been trying to contact you for the last ten minutes! What the hell happened?!' Eggman demands moodily.

Tails winces. 'There was a dome created by the energies of a Divine Jewel and Chaos Emerald. I guess it interfered with our communication. What did you need?'

'We've picked up a large amount of energy near Angel Island. It would seem someone has picked up a gem or more and doesn't know how to use it. The readings are off the charts!'

We all exchange a look. Knuckles grumbles. 'When will people learn...?'

I look at the sky and frown. 'Angel Island is a day away even at our pace,' I start, indicating Shadow, Sonic, Lotus and myself. 'And even then we're wearing our available time down quite thin.'

Tails suddenly perks up. 'We could go back to the house. That's only a few hours away, and the X Tornado is there. We can use that!'

Sonic slaps Tails' shoulder. 'Tails, you're a genius.'

I chuckle. 'You should know that already.' I clap my hands together. 'Right, let's get going!'

**Sonic's POV**

Before long, we arrive at Tails' house. We quickly prepare the X Tornado - I say "we"; it's really just Tails and Darla - and jump inside or, in the case of Shadow, Lotus, Cortana and me, jump on the wings. Cortana has a grin on her face as the wind whips around her quills. I laugh at her, causing her to look my way and childishly stick her tongue out me.

Shadow and Lotus grumble behind us, but I can tell from their low tones that they're trying not to smile, or smirk.

After only an hour of flying, Tails lands the plane near the portal up to Angel Island. Knuckles and Selena jump through first, followed closely by everyone else. We appear near the shrine of the Master Emerald, and I see a familiar figure flying nearby. She appears to be rejoicing about picking up a new gem, and apparently hasn't noticed the way it's shining.

'Rouge!' Knuckles growls, running up to her.

The ivory bat turns and smirks at Knuckles. 'I was wondering when you'd appear, Knuckie. Still, you took longer than I expected. I've been here for hours.' Rouge then sees the rest of us. 'Hey, guys!' She says, waving. 'Who are your friends?'

'That's not important!' I cry, running forward. 'Rouge, we need that gem!''

Rouge laughs. 'But I just got it! I'm not giving it up easily.' She looks down smugly at us.

Tails steps forwards, his voice urgent. 'Rouge, we need that gem! If we don't get it, the whole universe could collapse.'

Rouge blows a rude raspberry. 'Ha, like I'd believe that.'

Cortana sighs. 'You've got to believe them. Look, even Shadow is helping us. Surely that's proof enough that this is urgent.'

Rouge considers this. 'Explain exactly what's going on...'

Darla takes a deep breath and starts. 'Cortana, Selena, Lotus, Professor Browning and myself are from a different dimension. When Browning created a portal, we were sent here. The structure of the universe is damaged, and if we don't collect all the Chaos Emeralds and Divine Jewels, our dimensions are going to collide and the whole universe will restart.'

Rouge gently lowers herself to the ground. 'You're serious?' We all nod. She sighs, but holds out the Divine Jewel in her hand. 'Then I guess you can have this.'

Selena grabs it and tucks it away. 'Good! Now we only have three more to collect!' She says, grinning.

I see Cortana is staring at Rouge, a slight frown playing at her features. 'Something wrong?' I whisper to her.

Cortana jumps a little, startled, before shaking her head. 'No, nothing. I'm just thinking that this is what Rory would look like if he were a girl.' She turns away, before meeting the rest. I follow after sending Rouge a weak smile.

'Guys!' She calls after us. We turn back to face her. 'Good luck,' she says weakly. We nod and send her a smile each, before hopping back through the portal.

Cortana sighs as soon as we step through. 'Why do I get the feeling these last three gems are going to be next to impossible to find?'

Shadow frowns. 'I've got the same feeling. I guess it's because it's true.'

I grumble under my breath, 'I sure as hell hope not.'


End file.
